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1987 Japan/Australia Tour
The Japan/Australia Tour ran from 15 November 1987 to 29 May 1988, a large-scale, "in-the-round" production that toured sports arenas. The production was so popular in Japan that it was revived from 24 March – 18 July 1990. Production Credits * Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber * Lyrics by Richard Stilgoe * Designed by John Napier * Choreographed by Arlene Phillips * Lighting by David Hersey * Sound by Martin Levan * Production Musical Director David Caddick * Original productions in London and New York directed by Trevor Nunn * Adapted and Directed for Japan and Australia by Dion McHugh * Assistant Director Carole Todd * Musical Director Philip Edwards * Assistant Choreographer Ilse Challis * General Management Adelaide Festival Centre Trust * Executive Producer John Robertson * Producers Kevin Earle and Mort Clark * Produced in London by The Really Useful Theatre Company * Produced in Japan by Fujisankei Communications Group Production Specifics The Japan/Australia tour was the third production of Starlight Express, following the original production in London and the subsequent production on Broadway. The tour used much of the material as it was revised for Broadway, such as adding the song Engine of Love and reducing the number of races from 5 to 4. However, it made a big change that would be followed by all future productions, cutting the character of Belle the Sleeping Car. On the first tour, the cast sang live. On the second tour, the cast mimed to recorded vocal trackshttp://starlightexpress-club.mountlaurelmartialarts.com/robby-pigott-and-jim-harrison/. as Electra with his eight Components, 1990]] Character Doubles This was the first tour of Starlight Express and was the only tour to have the facilities to perform the races live, by skating around the large arena set. This production included multiple characters: Components: * Krupp 1 and Krupp 2 * Joule 1 and Joule 2 * Volta 1 and Volta 2 (1990) National Engines: * Weltschaft, Flying Hamburger - Germany * Espresso, Pendelino - Italy * Hashimoto and Nakamura (1987) or Yamamoto (1990) - Japan * Bobo, Coco - France * Turnov, Vladimir (1990, simply Turnov 1 and 2 in 1987) - Russia This production cut the British Train, a precursor to the German production taking the same step. The cast also included dedicated Gang, 19 swing performers, and 12 stunt skaters. Races The race structure incorporated multiple racers to fill the huge stage, and the races were run by stunt skaters rather than the principal cast. Touring Set :The largest tent in the world at the Showground, is there for a play on Rollerskates called starlight express. The Starlight Supertop, the vast canvas tent housing and 6,500 seats, was imported from England and takes up almost an entire car park at the Sydney Showground. January 06, 1988. Set Model Japan Aus tour.jpg Race 1 J87 01.jpg Set j87 52.jpg Set j87 53.jpg Set j87 54.jpg Set japan 09.jpg Greaseball Dinah j87 31.jpg Race j87 32.jpg Race j90 48.jpg Race j90 49.jpg Stage Japan 03.jpg Tent Theatre Australia 2.jpg|Australia Tent Tour Musical Numbers The Japan / Australia Tour was developed alongside the Broadway production, opening 8 months later. The material took a "Best of Both Worlds" approach, using material predominantly from Broadway, but referring back to elements of the original London production, and removing some of the more over-wrought elements added for the American audience such as the "Silver Dollar" plotline. Race 1 J87 01.jpg|Race: Heat 1 Race Downhill Final J90 1.jpg|Race: Downhill Final Race J87 Bobo Pearl Hash Buffy.jpg|Pearl and French Engine; Buffy and Japanese Engine. Not actual race footage. 1987 Japan/Australia Tour Highlights Album The cast recorded a highlights album, which was released with different covers in Japanese and English. 1987 Australia LP.png 1987 Japan LP 2.JPG 1987 Japan LP.png 1987 Tour 1987 Tour Dates * Tokyo: 15th November - 11th December 1987 * Osaka: 24th December 1987 - 10th January 1988 * Sydney: 24th January - 28th February 1988 * Brisbane: 6th March - 20th March 1988 * Melbourne: 27th March - 14th April 1988 * Adelaide: 21st April - 8th May 1988 * Perth: 18th May - 29th May 1988 1987 Gallery Poppa Finale aus 14.jpg Coaches J87 01.jpg ACDC J87 DMJ 1.jpg 1990 Tour 1990 Tour Dates * Tokyo : 23rd March - 9th April 1990 * Nagoya: 16th April - 6th May 1990 * Fukuoka: 13th May - 27th May 1990 * Hiroshima: 3rd June - 18th June 1990 * Osaka: 30th June - 18th July 1990 1990 Gallery Pumping Iron J90 Danny Metcalfe 1.jpg Coaches J90 01.jpg Electra Components J90 Mykal Rand 1.jpg References Category:Productions